Chapter 5 - The Fortress of the King
The main estate was instantly transformed into an impenetrable fortress.
Dozens of loyal soldiers patrolled the grounds with assault rifles.
Every window was locked down with steel shutters.
Inside the grand library, a fire crackled in the massive stone hearth, casting a warm, flickering light across the room.
Maya was asleep on a velvet sofa, exhausted by the night's terrifying events.
Tommy sat in a leather armchair near the door, keeping watch like a tiny, fiercely loyal soldier.
Luca sat in his wheelchair near the fire, staring into the flames.
Elena walked over and handed him a glass of neat bourbon.
"You saved us," she said softly, sitting on the edge of the stone hearth.
"I almost lost you," Luca corrected, taking a slow sip of the burning liquid.
"Silvio sent those men."
"He knows I am investigating the poison, and he knows about Maya."
Elena looked at her sleeping daughter, her maternal instincts warring with her rising fear.
"How can you be so sure it was Silvio?" she asked.
"Because the men who attacked the cottage were carrying weapons from our own private armories," Luca explained darkly.
"Silvio is the only other man with the keys."
Elena reached out, gently placing her hand on Luca’s resting knee.
This time, Luca felt the warmth of her palm through the fabric of his trousers.
The sensation was faint, like a whisper in a crowded room, but it was undeniably real.
He looked down at her hand, and then up into her eyes.
"You can feel that, can't you?" Elena whispered, tears welling in her eyes.
"Yes," Luca breathed, the truth of his recovery hanging beautifully in the air.
"I can feel you, Elena."
She slid off the hearth and knelt beside his wheelchair, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Luca dropped the glass of bourbon onto the carpet and buried his hands in her hair.
It was a desperate, fierce embrace, making up for twelve years of stolen time.
"I will not let him take you from me again," Luca vowed against her neck.
"I am going to end him."
"How?" Elena asked, pulling back to look at his determined face.
May you like
"By giving him exactly what he wants," Luca smiled coldly.
"A king who looks weak."
